Nintendo’s Mario Creator Miyamoto to Reduce Involvement in Some Titles

By Naoko Fujimura and Yoshinori Eki -
Dec 8, 2011

Nintendo Co. said Shigeru Miyamoto,
creator of the Mario and Zelda series, will reduce his
involvement in making video games to spend more time training
younger developers.

Miyamoto will keep overseeing major titles, Ken Toyoda, a
spokesman for Nintendo, said by phone today. The 59-year-old
developer will maintain his position as senior managing
director, Toyoda said. Wired magazine reported on its website
that Miyamoto will step down from his “current position.”

Miyamoto joined Nintendo in 1977 and helped the Kyoto,
Japan-based maker of playing cards transform itself into a
video-game maker in the early 1980s with the “Super Mario
Bros.” game for the Famicom console.

“The move won’t affect Nintendo,” said Takashi Oka, an
analyst at TIW Inc., who has a “neutral” rating on the stock.
“The role should be more or less the same as now, as he
oversees development as a chief producer.”

Nintendo fell 2 percent to 11,040 yen at the 3 p.m. close
of trading in Osaka.